A complaint letter and an accompanying response.
1. A letter of complaint. Locate a problem on campus and the person responsible for fixing it. Then write a short letter requesting the problem be resolved. Keep your letter as close to real-world circumstances as possible, writing as if you'll actually send it.
- odd hours at the campus dining places
- confusing web interfaces
- an intersection where pedestrians almost get run over
- unwillingness of your department to allow e-textbooks
- anything else, you big complainer, you
- (My only restriction is that you don't write to Parking & Transportation Services about parking or Campus Connector issues; those complaints are too common. Also, it's fine with me if you want to address some off-campus problem instead.)
Our book calls this type of letter a claim or complaint (p. 93). But if you'd rather write a complimentary letter-something positive to a recipient on campus-that's fine as well. For example, you could write to your department chair praising your advisor for the assistance she provides, or you could thank Parking & Transportation Services for the efficiency of the new Train system. No need to be negative all the time, I figure. Then your response letter (see below) will still follow up on the content of your first letter however you see fit.
2. A letter of response. Consider how the reader for your original letter would respond to your complaint (or compliment). Then write a letter back to yourself from his or her perspective. Odds are, your original recipient might not be able to accommodate your request, and you might end up writing what our book calls a refusal (p. 96).
To clarify, you're not actually sending these letters. You, the student, are composing both the letter of complaint and the letter of response. You need to put yourself in someone else's shoes as you write the second letter.
A few words about formatting
Please keep both your letters to one page apiece. (Brevity rules.) Like all basic workplace correspondence-letters, memos and emails-your documents should be single-spaced with a line break between paragraphs. Otherwise, the guiding rule of formatting is that your reader should be able to access your message without being distracted. Your message content and rhetorical approach are more important than your formatting. Still, your letters should be clean and consistent with workplace standards; here's a small packet on formatting short correspondence(see attachments) that addresses some common questions.